EU votes to block controversial copyright law that would ban memes

Law would have required companies to buy licenses before posting links

The legislative body of the European Union voted Thursday against a law that would have significantly reformed copyright rules on the Internet, Politico reported.

The European Parliament rejected legislation that would have implemented harsher copyright enforcement rules online. The bill was controversial, as opponents warned it could alter the future of the web.

The bill, which passed through committee last month, would have required companies like Google and Facebook to buy licenses from news media companies before running links to their stories on their platforms.